Abstract

Within the national project Storage Catalogue of Germany, widely distributed Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sediment series of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were analysed to estimate their underground storage opportunities. Potential reservoir (sandstones) and seal rocks (claystones and salt layers) were evaluated in the eastern part of the North German Basin on basis of given criteria (e. g. depth of top ≥ 800 m below surface and cumulative sandstone thickness ≥ 10 m for storage formations and depth of basis ≥ 800 m and thickness of a single claystone layer ≥ 20 m of barrier formations) to dedicate regions suitable for further investigation. First results suggest that the reservoir rock of the Middle Buntsandstein and the associated seal rock of the Upper Buntsandstein have storage potential in the whole investigation area. Areas with best rock properties (high porosity and good permeability) are located in the northern part of Western Pomerania as well as west of Rostock continuing towards the Baltic Sea (Trollegrund). The potential areas with thick sandstone reservoirs of Rhaetian/Liassic age occur in NW, SW and SE Mecklenburg and in the southern part of Western Pomerania. However the associated barrier layer of Toarcian age is only developed in the South and East of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The occurence of rocks with storage capacity of Dogger and early Cretaceous age are only locally distributed. They occur especially in rim synclines of salt structures in the South and West of the Federal State with partially high thicknesses. The Permian sandstones have no storage potential because their pore space is nearly completely cemented. Thus, the overlying Zechstein salt as a potential seal rock is also not worth for further investigation in this respect.